


No Stress, We’ll Figure It Out

by Glass_Snake_Writer



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alex’s terrible childhood, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Foster Care, Hurt Alexander Hamilton, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Schyulers adopt Alex, not explicitly stated though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 08:25:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14233242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glass_Snake_Writer/pseuds/Glass_Snake_Writer
Summary: Alex has been shoved from foster home to foster home since his mother died. After he was kicked out of his last one in NYC, he’s forced to go live with a family out in some small town in the middle of nowhere. He just hopes the Schuyler’s will send him on his way so can go back to his life in the city





	No Stress, We’ll Figure It Out

**Author's Note:**

> So I’ve read a lot of amazing fics where the Washington’s adopt Alex and raise him. But it got me thinking, what if Alex was adopted by another family? Thus, this fic was born! Fair warning, Alex’s childhood wasn’t a fun one, so there are a few allusions to that, but not in depth. They will eventually be explored though.

Alex stared out the window and watched the passing trees. A sense of dread sat low in his stomach which he was refusing to think too much about. Vaguely Alex heard his social worker, Ms. Soo, talking about the family that was fostering him. She talked about how they’d already adopted two other kids and raised them alongside their biological daughter.

What she left unsaid was that this house would be better. Not that Alex believed that. She was obviously just attempting to put him at ease. All it really did though was cause him to raise his walls higher. He was going into a home which already had preconceived notions of kids in the system and Alex wouldn’t fit into those. Alex got into fights at school and didn’t talk at home. It wouldn’t take long for them to figure out how much of a burden he was. Then, they’d get rid of him and the vicious cycle would continue on.

Alex let his mind shift to the scenery outside that they passed. The window was still full of trees with nothing else in sight. It made Alex question the family even more. After all, who willingly lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere? Idiots, in Alex’s opinion. He’d take the city over some boring rural town in New York any day.

“Alexander, honey,” Ms. Soo spoke softly, startling Alex out of his thoughts, “we’re getting real close. Hang in there buddy!” Barely turning to face her Alex nodded to show that he heard. She turned to face the road, but not before Alex caught the pity in her eye. It angered him, but he refused to say anything to her. If she had taken the time to look at him though, it was clear on his face what he thought of her pity. Her lips pursed slightly as she told him, “They’re good people Alex. I think this house will be a great fit!” Alex shrugged as he held a snort at bay.

She’d said that about the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that. Every house was a good fit, until it wasn’t. But really, his life was made up of things like that. His mother had been healthy, until she wasn’t. His cousin had been alive, until he wasn’t. His brother had been there for him, until he wasn’t. Alex’s whole life had been a series of losses and it wasn’t about to change anytime soon. Oh, how he wished that it would though. He didn’t let himself think about it long though. Everytime change seemed on the horizon and he let his hopes get up, the world sent him crashing back down.

So Alex kept his mouth shut and let her regurgitate the exact same lines. At this point, it was for her own peace of mind rather than his. She was good and kind, despite her flaws. Alex didn’t want to crush her optimism with the truth. Ms. Soo was already overworked, Alex didn’t need to add more stress onto her.

The trees began to thin out more and there were actually signs of civilization. There was a sign welcoming them to a town that Alex didn’t even bother to remember the name of. Soon they started to pass houses and eventually reached a sort of town square. People mulled about and weaves around each other with practiced ease. Everyone smiled at each other with the familiarity only people who lived in small towns ever had. It was every bit the stereotypical, “quaint small town” you’d see on your tv.

Alex wasn’t impressed in the slightest with the facade. Back in the island he’d lived in a small town, so he knew what to expect. Since everyone knew everyone, any outsider immediately became the hottest gossip in town. Then there was the fact that they knew every single mistake you ever made. They could silently judge you for the end of time, they held onto things that long.

Needless to say, Alex wasn’t looking forward to this placement at all. He wanted to be sent back to New York city as fast as he could. Hopefully this one wouldn’t end to violently though. Those were always the worst to deal with. And usually the hardest to get out of.

His focus went back to the window, which Ms. Soo was rolling down. As they hit a red light Alex noticed a group of people around his age on the corner. In an attempt to avoid any eye contact with them, he pulled out his battered journal and a pencil he’d got at his last school. Immediately he dived back into his writing about the ridiculousness in Tennessee with the vote on the child marriage law. The whole thing was an utter mess and Alex wanted to get all of his feelings about it off his chest before he exploded. His pencil flew across the page and focus narrowed to only focus on the words flowing from his brain.

In fact, Alex was so immersed in his writing he failed to notice that the group of kids was looking at him. Their faces showed excitement as the whispered to each other. Wild theories about where he was from were thrown around between them. One of them said they had heard he had done time in juve. Another claimed that they heard he had fought three football players at once. And had walked away with barely a scratch on him. They waited for Alex to lift his head, but he never did. The lift turned green and the car sped away, leaving the gossiping teens behind.

Unaware of what had happened at the crosswalk, Alex kept on writing. His head was practically glued to his notebook as he put his thoughts to the page. To his social worker, he appeared possessed by something. Arms snapping from left to right as words flooded the page in a mess of led.

Ms. Soo placed a hand on his shoulder and announced, “We’re here Alexander.” Instinctively he wanted to pull away. He didn’t want her touching him. However, he had enough to deal with already. Doing that would only make it all worse. To distract himself, Alex adjusted the clunky black rimmed glasses on his nose that had slipped while he was writing. Letting his gaze shift to the house, a large one with an American flag hanging from it. It was mostly white, with a few green accents here and there. All of it screamed wealth and Alex hated it. Clenching his fists Alex shoved his notebook and pencil away as Ms. Soo got out of the car.

“God, this placement is gonna be so much fun!” Alex muttered to himself as he got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Immediately Ms. Soo moved to stand beside him. Her hand migrated to his shoulder once again and Alex stiffened.

“All set dear?” She asked him softly with a smile, as if speaking to a spooked animal. Gritting his teeth as quietly as possible Alex sharply shook his head in ascent. Her smile turned a tad forced as Alex adjusted one of the straps of his ratty backpack. They started to walk towards the front door in silence. All the whole thoughts swirled around Alex’s head. He wondered what this family would be like. If they would be the type of family that would ignore him and eventually just get tired of him. Of if they’d be kind and loving, but unable to actually handle a kid like him. Leaving those homes was always harder.

From what he’d been told of them, he was inclined to think it would be the second option. Not that that would even matter in the end truthfully; he’d be sent to a new home anyway. The first one would just make it easier for him. Of course, there was a few other possibilities, but those two were the ones he hoped for. All the other ones were more unpleasant.

Letting those thoughts leave the forefront of his mind Alex focused on the front door. Next to him his social worker rang the doorbell. Footsteps could be heard from the other side. They were precise, neither too fast or too slow. Taking a steadying breath Alex kept his gaze on the door. He wouldn’t let his nerves show to this new family.

When the door slid open a woman stood in front of them. She had warm dark skin and black hair that had been pulled up into a flat twist crown. Her dark brown eyes were crinkled up as she smiled at them from ear to ear. Looking her up and down, Alex took note of the obviously expensive clothes she wore. It made him feel inadequate next to her in his torn jeans and faded brown hoodie.

“Oh hello! We weren’t expecting you until later. I’m Catherine, and yo must be Ms. Soo and Alexander!” She greeted them warmly.

Ms. Soo smiled happily and replied, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Schuyler! We were expecting more traffic then we actually got. Hopefully this isn’t a bad time.” Alex looked between them as they continued with the formalities and kept a huff of annoyance in. All he wanted was for this to be over so he could get back to writing.

Mrs. Schuyler seemed to sense his emotions because she turned back to him and said, “Well, why don’t we head inside? I’m sure you want to see the inside Alexander.”

All she got in response was a disgruntled, “Sure.” for her efforts though. That seemed to catch her off guard before her face went back to looking pleasant. Alex could tell Ms. Soo was disappointed in him but he could care less about that. She always got her hopes up. She should’ve learned by now that Alex didn’t play nice with others. It was just who he was.

After a few beats they awkwardly shuffle inside. Alex let his eyes dart around and made a mental map in his head of the house. They had entered a hallway with two doors on the right and three on the left. At the end of the hall there was a door to the outside end stairs to the second story.

As he surveyed his surroundings the two adults chatted away. It was slightly stilted in light of Alex’s hostility towards Mrs. Schuyler. Both of them were trying to ignore the elephant in the room. Alex had given up on listening to them prattle on about nothing. He’d always found small talk boring and unnecessary.

They made their way through the first door to the left, which turned out to be the living room. A probably overpriced couch sat behind a long glass coffee table with an ornate tea set resting on it. On either side of that were matching seats that were turned slightly inwards. All of them surrounded the fireplace with a large tv on the mantel. Alex scoffed at it, but quickly tried to pass it off as a cough. Mrs. Schuyler’s smile seemed to become even more forced, so he didn’t really succeed. Well, it wasn’t like he cared all that much what they thought of him. It wasn’t like he’d be living with them long.

Alex plopped himself down on the couch and set his bag on the floor beside him. Mrs. Schuyler sat on the chair to the left while Ms. Soo sat next to him on the couch. All of them got as comfortable as they could with the lingering awkwardness in the air.

“Do either of you want some tea?” Mrs. Schuyler asked them as she poured herself a cup of tea. Alex made a face but nodded his head along with Ms. Soo. He really hated tea, couldn’t stand the after taste it left in his mouth. Coffee was more his speed. Hopefully they actually had it in the house and not just disgusting tea. The only reason he was taking it was so he wouldn’t fidget.

Sounds of tea being poured filled the room, lifting some of the silence. Both the adults went back to making small talk while Alex watched on from the sidelines. They eventually made their way to something more substantial, his files and other things about his placement. It wasn’t anything new so Alex tuned out and thought of his writing while taking a sip of tea. Grimacing at the taste he considered the next point he wanted to make about why the whole situation was stupid as fuck.

His mind was pulled from its musings as Ms. Soo stood up and said, “It’s been lovely talking with you, but I’m afraid I have to get going now.” Even though he knew she’d have to leave eventually, his stomach still dropped. Knowing that his voice wasn’t too steady right now, he only nodded his head. Meanwhile Mrs. Schuyler’s face lit up as she smiled at her.

“I look forward to seeing you again Ms. Soo! Have a safe trip back!” His new foster parent said. The two of them shook hands with each other pleasantly. Ms. Soo moves back towards Alex and gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. With that, she left the two of them alone. A heavy silence was left behind. Taking a sip to help ignore the awkwardness he held a grimace back. Even when he knew what it would taste like, it still somehow surprised him with how bad it managed to taste.

It seemed as if Mrs. Schuyler was taking a page as she took a sip from her own cup before telling him, “School got out just a bit ago, so you should be meeting the girls soon.”

“Alright, cool.” Alex said sarcastically as he kept himself from rolling his eyes. He didn’t care when they got home, he just wanted to go to his new room and write. Why wouldn’t the world just let him do what he loved? Mrs. Schuyler seemed to be put off balance with the blatant disrespect in his tone. That was good, he wasn’t here to be a sweet little orphan boy. No, he was a delinquent punk who hated authority with all his soul. She’d have to get used to that sooner or later. Sadly she was saved from having to steep in her emotions on him too long because the sound of the door opening filled the room.

A cheerful and distinctly masculine voice cured out, “Catherine, I’m home! Are the girls back yet?” Her face showed her relief at what was no doubt her husband's voice. Standing up she walked as calmly as she probably could right now over to him. The two of them exchanged a hushed conversation that Alex couldn’t make out. That didn’t mean he didn’t know they were talking about him though. All of this wasn’t very different from many of the other houses. Well, most of them at least.

Alex stopped himself from letting that thought go any further. No, no, mustn’t think about that. Better keep his thoughts on the present and not dwell on his shitty past too long. After all, having a panic attack before he even met his new “siblings” would be embarrassing to say the least.

Finally the couple stopped their whispering and the two walked into the living room. It gave Alex the opportunity to assess Mr. Schuyler for the first time. He was a tall Asian man with immaculate short hair. Even though his face was open and warm, the man held a sense of authority. Maybe it was how put together he looked with the sharp dark blue suit or maybe it was the rigid posture he held. In any case, he made Alex nervous. He sipped his tea and didn’t even register the taste.

“Ah, I’m happy to finally meet you Alexander! My name’s Philip.” The man said, a forced lightness to his tone. It put him even more on edge and his hands gained a faint tremble. Trying to keep them from noticing, he put down the tea cup. Looking back at Mr. Schuyler, Alex nodded his head in acknowledgement. If he’d tried to speak, his voice would be too soft. He wouldn’t let that amount of weakness show. Mr. Schuyler fell for a moment before resuming the forced cheer from before.

“Not really much of a talker, eh?” He jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood. The joke fell when Alex refused to do more then stare at him. With that, the heavy tension that had left the room when he’d arrived returned full force. That didn’t faze Alex much though. His mind was focused too much on the sounds around him in an attempt to stop his mind from getting to wrapped up in itself. However, the sounds that he listened to grated on his ears something fierce. From the pointed tick of the clock on the wall, to the breeze hitting the window softly, to the faint sound of tires meeting pavement.

Alex was amazed at how badly this placement was already going. He wasn’t even here for an hour! That must’ve been a new record for him fucking these things up. It was almost the same situation as the Lee’s. His stomach dropped at the thought of them. No, that wouldn’t happen here. He’d promised to never let it go that far again.

Letting his mind focus on his hands, Alex realized he’d been fiddling with the frayed seams of his sleeves. Cursing himself internally for letting one of his nervous ticks show Alex forced his hands still. He hoped that they hadn’t noticed, but seeing as his luck was shit he doubted it.

“Well,” Mr. Schuyler said uncertainty, shifting from foot to foot, “let me show you your room?” Alex had the strong urge to ask for Mrs. Schuyler to do it instead. He didn’t want to be around the older man any more than absolutely necessary.

“Alright.” Alex stiffly responded instead. Wouldn’t want to make anything worse than it already was after all. Grabbing his backpack off the floor he trudged after Mr. Schuyler. While they walked towards the stairs Alex tried to distract himself with memorizing the rest of the layout again.

Next to the stairs was a little unclave that led to a door to the downstairs bathroom. On the side of the stairs was a door that probably led to the basement or maybe a closet. Climbing the stairs Alex took note of the pictures on the wall. Mr. and Mrs. Schuyler’s has one from their wedding, surrounded by friends and family. They also had many pictures of their children.

There were three girls, all with very different appearances. First, there was girl that looked the oldest with soft brown skin and long curly hair pulled into a low ponytail. She had the same rigid posture as her father and looked like someone who took absolutely no shit from anyone. Next there was a slim girl who appeared to be of Asian descent with long black hair left down. The girl seemed to be the middle child and looked much softer than her siblings. Lastly there was a much shorter Latina girl with long wavy hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Her whole appearance screamed of cheerfulness and childishness. No doubt she was the youngest of the three.

He wondered if he’d get along with any of them at all. It wasn’t all that likely though. After all, who wanted to be friends with a loser delinquent like him? Not anyone with a shred of sanity, that was for sure. Alex was fine with that though. He’d learned the hard way it was better to not form connections. In the end he’d have to leave them and it hurt to deal with.

When they reached the top of the stairs Alex took note of the clutter scattered around. Someone had left what looked sports stuff scattered around with knitting needles and yarn thrown next to it. On the window was a little carving of a bee made from wood. He filed the information away for later. Turning to the left they entered another hallway. There were four doors to the right, one to a bathroom and three to what looked like their daughters rooms. On the left there were only two, both of which were bedrooms.

Alex felt relieved that he wouldn’t have to have to share a room like he’d had to at other homes. He always hated having to share so much space with someone else. With his own room Alex had a place that he could just be alone and relax. When he was alone he didn’t have to put on a front for anyone. In those moments when he was alone, he was free to just be himself.

Mr. Schuyler lead him to the last room on the left. Inside was a desk on the wall to the right which was right under a window, a dresser on the wall to the left, and a bed shoved against the back wall. It was all very impersonal, not that Alex minded.

“We can go shopping for for some decorations for your room later.” His new foster father said. Glancing over at him Alex nodded his head even though he was just fine leaving it as it was. He walked over to the desk and set down his backpack on it. Another moment of silence passed between them and Alex gripped the edge of the table. Glancing to the side Mr. Schuyler continued, “I’ll let you settle in now Alexander. The girls should be home soon enough though.”

With that, the man closed the door and left. His footsteps echoed in the hallway outside as he walked away. When Alex could no longer hear the sound he slumped into the desk chair with a sigh. Pulling out his journal and pencil once more Alex let himself sink back into the single minded focus from before. He let his insecurities fall to the back of his mind.

Writing had been Alex’s escape from reality, which is exactly what he needed right now. He needed something to distract him from thoughts of this new family and the previous families he’d stayed with. If he let his mind stray there now, he would shatter. Alex wouldn’t let himself do that not now, not ever. So he let it all go and poured his heart and soul out onto the page. For now, that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if I got anything super wrong with the adoption stuff! I’m completely in the dark about it and would love to hear feedback on it :)


End file.
